Slabs are for selling.
Binders are better.
Honestly, a NM or even LP binder copy does the same for me as a Gem Mint slabbed PSA 10. I do not understand the immense desire for grading. To each their own, I suppose. Anything I grade is purely for selling. Perusing my binder is much more fun than flipping through slabs:)
…Although, my dream is to one day be able to complete every pre-eSeries WotC set and have them all framed and hung in my man cave (one might call it a “PokeCave”).
I just uploaded my “big binder” not long ago. I’ve always been more fond of the binders. And now for this binder specifically I’m torn. I know it’s the last thing that I’ll sell, prolly when I’m 30 years older… but the prices make it silly almost to not grade. Almost want to crack out my 1st Ed Charizard from its case… just to have in the binder. Sigh… why can’t it be easier. What would you guys do? Granted this binder is all the first Ed’s, gold stars etc… I do have a full set of other unlimited version binders more for viewing.
If you’re not going to sell them for 30 years, why would you grade them now? Assuming they’re not being stored terribly, then the condition isn’t going to change. If I were in your situation, I’d just keep them in them in the binder and enjoy them. And get them graded if and when the time came to sell.
I feel like it’s more so to really know the condition and for the best protection. I know once they are graded I’ll probably go back through them all and trade up or buy higher grades. So in a way it will also push my collecting further. And I’ll have more piece of mind for protection. I can’t deny one small part it to just know their worth more precisely also. Most in the binder range from 5-8 but a few big boys are pushing 9/10
My biggest issue with binder collections is that after crunching the permutations over and over again, the lack of holo#16 in English Fossil cannot be reconciled with my placement on the spectrum. Here is what I mean:
Set / #holos / divisible factors
English Base 1st Edition / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
English Base shadowless / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
English Base unlimited / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
Japanese Base unlimited / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
English Jungle 1st Edition / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
English Jungle unlimited / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
Japanese Jungle unlimited / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
English Fossil 1st Edition / 15 / 1,3,5,15
English Fossil unlimited / 15 / 1,3,5,15
Japanese Fossil unlimited / 16 / 1,2,4,8,16
For me personally, arranging the above sets in a 40 page 4slot binder is the most satisfying and almost fits the above sets perfectly. The problem is that the English Fossil sets have a blank spot where there should be Mew. For the time being I have placed the promo version into the unlimited slot and the ancient mew into the 1st edition slot. This seems to lower my anxiety but I still flip over that page very quickly because something feels off.
Put the Japanese Mew in! It has the set symbol!
Assuming the same thing they aren’t being stored terribly, what is the reason to grade? I don’t grade anything I’m not selling I can display cards myself in frames/protect them with tons of different cases available to the market & long term I don’t know what grading company prevails. So why am I going to grade say 500 cards waste $5000 that all need to be regraded 30 years down the line even with the same company there will be new cases etc that you will most likely need to get re-cased you are just adding cost.
vr
odds
This year was the year of the PSA 9’s next year is the year of the binder condition cards 
I think the pandemic coupled with the significant price increases this year has fuelled the rise in binder collecting.
Ultimately, a lot of people are now priced out of PSA goals and may have no option but to pursue binders. Additionally, most people have had a lot more spare time to dedicate to their binders.
The beauty of binder collecting is that it’s different for everyone, you can do it on any budget, any timescale and structure it however you want. It’s really amazing to see everyone having their own layouts, their own sleeve and folder combinations.
For me, I’m a completionist at heart, so there’s nothing more satisfying than a binder with no empty spots, it’s just beautiful to flick through - especially with all the beautiful cards lined up together. I’m probably less pickier than the majority of you in terms of condition because I have to be realistic in being able to achieve my goal - once that’s done I can revisit condition.
Binder collecting/building was how I entered this hobby again in 2018 since leaving around 2004. I wanted to continue the way I used to collect as a kid, but this time of course with more patience and focus.
Since 2018, I have completed every 1st edition set from Base-Neo Destiny and I made it a point to seek out mint raw copies or just cracked out PSA 9’s. I collect slabs as well for those high ticket items, but just being able to put on some Pokemon Lofi and flip through your binders and get lost in the feels is priceless.
I can appreciate binder collecting. 
I used to be a binder collector too.
This year I decided to move in the opposite direction. I’ve sent most of my good binder cards in for grading. My reasons for this are as follows:
(1) Grading costs will likely only increase in the years to come. Even if they stay the same, upcharges could increase if the cards increase in value. I know I want all my good cards graded eventually, so why not do it now and get it over with?
(2) Turnaround times will probably always be obnoxiously bad, just perhaps to a lesser extent. I know I want every card graded before I sell it. Right now I don’t want to sell, but I want to be ready in case I change my mind in the future. Waiting 6 months for cards to get returned is too long. If there’s another mania / price surge 5 years from now, and I decide to sell, I want to be ready.
(3) Graded cards are almost guaranteed to stay in the same condition. Binder cards require more care. I thought I was being extremely careful with my side-loaded BCW z-folio binders. Yet there’s a couple cards that still received slight damage, due to how they were pressing against the cover of the binder. There are small indents on a couple cards.
(4) I like knowing exactly what I have, both in terms of grade and in terms of value. I don’t want to dwell on whether some of my binder cards are in better condition than others. I’d rather have exclusively PSA 8 or PSA 9 sets of cards.
I know this is counter to what everyone else is saying in this thread, so I guess I’m just the odd one out. Anyway, I still totally love looking at everyone else’s binder collections, and I understand exactly why you all prefer to collect that way.
I messed up my copy pasta. To clarify, my little black binder has 20x 4 slot pages. It includes shadowless base, first edition base, jungle, and fossil, unlimited base, jungle, and fossil, and japanese base, jungle, and fossil. That equals a perfect 160/160 EXCEPT for two freaking cards. There is no first edition fossil english mew, and no unlimited english fossil mew. I do have the japenese one in it’s designated slot. For now I have settled with filling the first edition slot with the ancient mew and the unlimited slot with the promo mew. If they had only included mew in the english fossil set I think my life would be perfectly balanced. As it stands, the universe is slightly off-balance, and therefore I will never attain true happiness.
Binder cards was a great entry point for me while re-entering the hobby back in end of 2017. I could not spend a lot but still wanted a fulfilling collection. Never thought about grading due to the additional expense which I thought I might as well put into the hobby since I am not selling any cards.
I really like the simplicity of binders. Its not too cumbersome to store as well. I also collect the Pokemon Carddass and fell in love with the ‘Carddass Station System Files’ which I thought was a really cool way to display the cards which not a lot of people know about. This enforced the binder love in me even more.
I think I will also always be a binder collector. My slight OCD also does not want me to have any graded cards in my collection since all of my cards are binder cards. 
Since getting into collecting I’ve definitely focused on binders and completing sets. It feels very “natural” since this is how many of us collected when we were younger. I love flipping through the binders and seeing all the cards together as they came into this world, hands down my favorite way to enjoy my collection.
What kind of binders and sleeves does everyone use? I’ve been using DEX Protection Limited Edition binders, which have a really nice padded exterior that makes them look almost like photo albums. I’ve sleeved all the cards in the binders and double-sleeved the holos.
I just recently (within the past year or so) started working on completing my base unlimited through team rocket unlimited sets. It’s been a lot of fun because I have mostly tried to fill the binder with trades and bulk buys rather then just going to TCGPlayer/TnT and buying all the cards.
It’s really brought me back to the good ole days of sitting down with friends, cracking open our binders, and trying to see which cards we do and don’t have to trade.
I’m a binder collector as well. I have several reasons for that:
1- I love how binders look once you’ve completed a set/page.
2- When I look at graded cards, the first thing I look at is the grade and the back. With a binder collection, my focus is on the actual card and the artwork.
3- Raw cards are cheaper.
4- I’m a European collector, which makes it harder for me to grade cards since no big grading company operates in Europe (at least without a middleman).
5- Binder collections take up waaaaay less space than graded collection, which is very important to me as I don’t like seeing a lot of stuff at my house.
Having said that, there are two big advantages that I see for graded cards over binder ones. The first one is that I think that the holo foil is clearer in a slab than in a binder, since I double sleeve cards due to high humidity in my area. The second one is that, in case that you want to get an insurance for your collection, graded cards makes it easier to assess the value of your collection and grading companies certify that your cards are authentic.
All in all, I see good reasons for both. As I’m not interested in selling anything at all, at least for now, the advantages of a binder overcome the advantages of a graded collection
I’m exclusively a binder collector and agree with many of the sentiments already expressed. Big part of the fun is arranging the cards however you like!
For example, 1 binder I have contains Base Unlimited, Jungle, Fossil, and Base 2. B/J/F I have arranged in set order, I think they look nice that way. For Base 2 I got creative and put starter trios first, then all other 3-stage evolutions (E.g. Poliwag, poliwhirl, poliwrath) , and then I modeled the rest of the set after the modern set order. By Type, then dex order. I think it looks awesome. I’ve since begun arranging my 2nd (Work In Progress) binder in a similar way for Black Star Promo, Rocket, and Neo Genesis.
Binders give you the freedom to arrange the cards in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing and personal. Plus, the cards are cheaper, condition is not the end-all. For me, holos are an exception to this because I hate when excessive scratching dulls a shiny foil. I’m not above buying PSA 8 foils and cracking them for my binder. But whitening on the backs? Tiny creases that you need the right light and angle to notice? Not a big deal.
At the risk of offending graded collectors, that angle always seemed so much more money-oriented to me and is not appealing. Not always, don’t get me wrong. I can understand wanting PSA 9 or 10 holos so they friggin’ gleam on display. But I have no intention of getting rid of my cards until I’m old and will either pass them onto my kids or do an honest market assessment and sell the collection for a good price. But I’m not in this to collect sets of slabs and fret over the market value of what I own. I like pokemon cards for the nostalgia, for the artwork, etc. Had binders as a kid, continuing that as an adult!